Man has no other possession but hope, Thomas Carlyle once wrote, and as the CAO process draws to an end students and their parents are hoping for many things.
For another offer. For a smooth and painless transition to third level. For improved exam results via the recheck system. For an end to the whole process after two gruelling years.
This morning some of these hopes will be realised. Another 3,000 offers are in the post and those who narrowly missed a course in the first round may get lucky.
The majority of the new offers are for certificate/diploma courses, but there are still plenty of degree courses shedding points. Either way, remember that if you get a second-round offer you must return it by Monday, September 10th, to CAO.
Second round
There are about 3,100 new offers this year compared to 3,600 last year.
On the degree list students will notice the differences between the colleges. For example about 20 courses at UCC have dropped in points, whereas at NUI Maynooth not a single degree course has dropped.
Students should remember that, like everything else in the CAO, the second round is a function of supply and demand.
Supply in this case is the number of places left open after the first round and demand is the number of students still eligible for them.
Colleges have sole discretion over how many offers they make in the first round. It is a judgment call normally made by admissions officers in each college.
Those colleges which did not make enough offers in the first round use the second round to do some housekeeping and this may involve dropping the points.
Looking at the degree list you can see that maths/engineering/computer related courses are most likely to have fallen between rounds one and two.
Computer applications (DC121) at DCU is down five points, computer science (FT228) at DIT is down 25 points, while Trinity's computer science course (TR033) is down 10.
Science courses followed a similar pattern. For example, NUI Galway's science course (GY301) has dropped 10 to 310, while physics/electronics (GY302) and biomedical science (GY303) also dropped.
Over 10 courses at NUI Galway have dropped between the rounds. But in many cases there is no actual reduction in points. Instead, the points have stayed the same but random selection has been removed.
This means every student on those points gets a place (presuming they have the subject requirements, etc). This occurred on several NUI Galway courses such as arts (GY101), arts - psychology (GY 104) and commerce with German (GY203).
While the second-round offers are relatively predictable, the number of healthcare courses falling in points between rounds is surprising.
Just look at this short list: medicine at UCC (CK701) down five, dentistry at UCC loses its random selection classification, medicine at Trinity (TR051) is down 10, dentistry at Trinity (TR052) is down 10 and pharmacy (TR072) at the same college is down five.
This goes against the trend of recent years when such courses rarely budged in the second round. There is also some good news for would-be architects with UCD's course (DN001) falling five points to 505.
Mr Eugene Donoghue, chief executive of An Bord Altranais (the Nursing Board), says that 3,348 offers have been made in the second round to 1,993 nursing applicants and points are down considerably on the first round.
In regard to the group of about 200 mature applicants who were embroiled in a CAO error several weeks ago, he says discussions are "ongoing" about how many of them may get an offer.
He said further rounds of offers had to take place before their situation could be resolved. However, it is understood those who applied for a general nursing place, and not mental handicap or psychiatric nursing, stand less chance of getting an offer.
Rechecks
Further queries have come in from students who viewed their scripts over the weekend.
Many want to appeal the grade but are worried they could be downgraded and lose their current place. This is theoretically possible, but extremely unlikely.
Only a handful of students are downgraded each year and even then it is for blatant errors such as an incorrect total at the end of the paper.
So take the risk and there is a good chance it will pay off. For those who failed ordinary level maths this advice applies to you the most.
If you are already on an E grade, a downgrade will make little difference - a fail is a fail. But at least by using the recheck option you give yourself some hope.
Further Education
If you are still not happy with this year's offers maybe you should look at the further education or PLC sector. Their courses are often more practical, less academic, and class sizes tend to be smaller than at ITs or universities.
The sector is an alternative for school-leavers who do not want to spend four years or more in college.
For example, a two-year computing course is likely to lead to direct employment in the IT industry, with arguably far more hands-on experience in the workplace than ITs or universities.
According to Mr Barry O'Callaghan, deputy principal, Senior College, Dun Laoghaire, the sector represents an alternative route to qualifications for those who left school early and who now feel they are in "dead-end work".
"Many of our students are aged between 22 and 25, but the sector also offers a second chance to `drop-outs' from ITs and universities. Many of those who come to us prefer smaller classes and more personal contact with tutors. Almost all courses have progressions to degree level," he says.
Vacancies
Cavan College of Further Studies reports that they have vacancies on three courses, two of them in the CAO system. These are the national certificate in business studies - office information systems (AL004); national certificate in business studies - General (AL002); national certificate in applied social studies - Social Care.
Some places are still available on NCVA business and administration, information technology, sport and recreation and travel and tourism courses.
Do not forget there is also an academic world outside CAO with many private institutes offering challenging courses. For example, there is the Kimmage Institute of Theology and Cultures in Dublin (www.kmitc.ie) which offers absorbing courses on Wednesday nights exploring all kinds of areas for just £55. They also offer a range of evening courses for £35.
This is the final column in the series